The Constant Wrestle with Racism: My Reflection from the Email

The Constant Wrestle with Racism: My Reflection from the Email

My heart at times becomes burdensome with the issues of this world. I will be honest, I wrestle everyday with the concept of racism. (I am connecting racism and prejudice together, though much of what I am talking about is prejudice rather than racism.) What would make a person have so much hatred for another that they will do whatever it takes to hinder or impede their progress? What would make a person kill or harm another because of the color of their skin? I could just simply throw a proof –text from the scriptures highlighting that it is a product of sin. While that is true, I find it to be an excuse that stops the church from putting in the work to eradicate it.

I will admit racism is a hard thought to wrestle with because it presents itself as a viable outlook and outcome. If you hate me why would it be so odd to believe that I would hate. Honestly, from a survival standpoint, it would behoove me to hate you for my own safety so that I will not find myself trying to change your mind. Thus putting myself in a place for you to enslave or kill me. It takes a special and strong person to stand in the face of racism and not flinch. I am not at that place where my response to racism in labeled under that category.

Therein displays my struggle because I find passiveness to be a sign of approval. I have to really engage in introspection every day in order not to over-respond to ignorance that is really “racism undefined.” We all do this in order to navigate through our day with a sense of peace. Whether we admit it or not we have implemented racism into our life with such creativity that it is unnoticeable to ourselves. The painstaking task comes when we get in the company of others who do not share our points of contention and they point out our areas of racism. We can either reduce it to nonsense or heed the words that they have spoken in order to change.

I believe that God is conditioning the hearts of men to realize the flaw in our thinking. I believe we are in a time when the image of God ( imago dei) is being placed on the heart of men and we are seeing that we all were wrong. We are finding that I never had to hate you in order to love myself. The end result has manifested in a society in turmoil and confusion as it wrestles with this redefining. As this post-modern age group has no color identification associated with it, we as parents tend to protect our children by sharing with them that racism is real. My fear of my children being the product of racism provokes me, so I inevitably prepare them to take a blow that they may never identify with the same way I have in my life.

So my wanting to help and prepare my children to deal with racism has the potential to make them racist or passive which takes me back to square one.